Conveyer control mechanism



1931- E. T. LORIG ET AL CONVEYER CONTROL MECHANISM 2 Sheets-Sheet 1Filed Aug. 29, 1930 fiwenfors: QM/v 7." LOB/C; and fiiiiizw Dec. 15,1931. E. T. LORlG ET AL CONVEYER CONTROL MECHANISM Filed Aug. 29, 1930,Sheets-Sheet I 2 soLENolD .bwen'orsx [DW/N 7. LOB/6 and Patented Dec.15, 1931 UNITED (STATES PATENT our-ice V EDWIN LORI-G AND omania E.rn'rnnsomor eanr, inmaism. ASSIGNOBSTO uranium srmn'r AND "rm PLATECOMPANY, ALCORPORATIONQF new masnr comm oomon imcnmsu Thisinventionrelates to conveyer control apparatus and while not limited thereto,relates more particularly to control apparatus E for controlling theoperation. of the conveyers' in tin mill pack heating furnaces and thelikeand-hasfor one of its objects the provision of suchcontrol apparatuswhich is in part automatic and in part manually operated, and which isprovided with means for positively preventing the overrun and prematuredischarge of the conveyed packs or other material. I s

Another object is to provide a control of this class which is composedof fewparts, is durable and specially adapted for heavyiduty use such asit will receive in steel mill prac' tice. A

In .the drawings: w s Figure 1 is a transverse section through thedischarge end ofa furnace having our inven tion applied thereto.

Figure 2 is an end elevation of the control mechanism; V Figure 3 is adiagram'of the control circuits. t

Referring more particularly to thedrawings, the numeral 2 designates thefurnace as a whole which'is provided with the'usual transverse conveyorrollers 3 which are adapted to be driven by any of the several usualcombinationsof mechanisms powered by the motor 4 (indicated in thewiring diagram of Fig'ure-ii).

A control-shaft 5 extends transversely of pling 10 to a shaft 12journaled in bearings '13. A cam 14; is keyed or otherwise fixed on theshaft 12 "and serves to operatea two-way limit switch 15 ofstandarddesign.

A solenoid 16 is mounted on a bracket 17 the furnace above theconveyerrollers 3 at.

The shaft 5 isconnected by a flexible cou- Application filed Au ust,1930. sem no. main.

above theshaft 12 andhas its plunger'l8 provided with an extension 19. r

The plunger extension 19 is cut away, as at 20,.to provide an openinginwhich an arm 21, which is keyed to the shaft 12, is adapted to swing. Asquare stop shoulder 22 is formed within the cut-away portion of saidplunger extension and is adapted tobe engaged by a lug or jaw 23 on the.arm 21 whe the armis-rotated.

A pair 'of links 24 are :pivotally connected at one end to thearm 21 andhavetheir. other end pivotally mounted on afpin 25 which is slidablymounted in a slot26 in the plunger '1' extension l9 soasto permit: alimited free movement ofsaidishaft 12, arm 21,andlinks 24relative tosaid plunger extension.

The operation will be described in com tionwith the wiring diagramofFigure 3. '-a

With the control. mechanism in the positions shown in the drawings, themotor 4'is energized to rotate the conveyer rollers 3 and-com vey. apack of sheets or other" material through the furnace. As the materialstrikes the tri ger 7 the trigger will be forced to swing; %orwardly soas to rock the shafts 5 and 12 sufficiently to cause the cam 14 toactuate the limit switch 1 15. Actuation of the circuitto the motor 4.

When the pack of sheets or other material strikes the trigger 7, so asto rock the shafts .5 and 12, the amount of movement is limited by. thejaw 23.0n the arm 21engaging the stop shoulder 22 within thecut-awayportion 20 of the plunger-extension 19. The links 24 move freelyrelative to the plunger: extension duringthe rocking of the trigger dueto the limit switch 15 by the cam 14 will breakthe i.

mounting, ofthepivotpin 25 in the slot'26.

The engagement of the jaw 23 with the shoulder 22. forms apositive lockwhich prevents further movement of the trigger 7 and thereby preventsoverrunning or accidental discharge of the packs. a g 7 When theoperator desires todischarge the material previously movedagainst thetrigger 7 he willdepress a foot treadle switch30 to complete anenergizing circuit through the solenoid lfilandthrough the motor 4, thuscausing the plunger 18 and extension 19 of the solenoid to movevertically to release the jaw 23 from the shoulder 22 and to rock theshafts 5 and 12 a sufficient amount to permit free movement of the packof sheets or other material thereunder, and at the same time the motor 4again operates to drive the conveyer rollers to feed the materialforward out of the furnace.

When the pack of sheets or other pieceof material is vdischarged theoperator will release thetreadle switch 30 and thereby break theenergizing circuit to the solenoid 16 so that the plunger 18 and itsassociated parts will return to normal position, thus the trigger 7 andswitch 15 will be returned to normal position. The motor 4 will continueto run until another pack of sheets strikes the trigger 7 and opens theswitch 15.

While we have shown and described one specific embodiment of ourinvention it will be understood that we do not wish to be limitedthereto since it may be adapted for use with various types of rollerconveyers and various types of conveyer or continuous furnaces, andvarious modifications may be made without departing from the scope ofthe invention, as'defined in the appended claims.

' We claim:

- 1. The combination with a motor-driven roller conveyer, of means forcontrolling the operation of said conveyer rollers, said meanscomprising a shaft journaled in suitable bearings ;and extendingparallel with said conveyer rollers at a distance above said rollers, atleast one trigger member fixed on said shaft and extending downward intothe path of travel of the material being conveyed by said rollers, powermeans for rotating said shaft to move said trigger memher out of thepathof travel of the material on saidconveyer rollers, means for permittinga slight rotation of said shaft when the material engages said-trigger,means operable by said slight rotation of said shaft for deenergizingthe driving motor for said conveying rollers, and manually operatedmeans for simultaneously energizing said power means for rotating saidtrigger carrying shaft and said conveyer roller motor to permit thedischarge of the material previously held by said trigger.

2. The combination with a motor-driven roller conveyer, of means forcontrolling the operation of said conveyer rollers, said meanscomprising a shaft journaled in suitable bearings and extending parallelwith said conveyer rollers at a distance above said rollers, at leastone trigger member fixed on said shaft and extending downward into thepath of travel of the material being conveyed by said rollers, a.power-operated plunger for; rotating said shaft, means forming a looseconnection between said shaft and said plunger whereby said shaft mayhave a limited free movement, said shaft being .held by said trigger.

3. The combination with an electric motoroperated' roller conveyer, ofmeans for controlling the operation of said conveyer, said meanscomprising a shaft j ournaled in suitable bearings and extendingparallel with said conveyer rollers at a distance above said rollers, atleast one trigger member fixed on said shaft and extending downward intothe path of travel of the material being conveyed by said rollers, asecond shaft flexibly coupled to said first named shaft, a solenoid, alever keyed to said second shaft, a link connection between said leverand the plunger of said solenoid, said link connection having a looseconnection with the plunger of said solenoid to permit a limited freemovement of said link relative to said solenoid, said shafts beingadapted to be rotated within the limits of the free movement of saidlink connection when the material being conveyed engages said trigger,means operable by the free movement of said shaft for deenergizing thedriving motor for said conveying rollers, and manually operated meansfor simultaneously energizing said solenoid to rotate said shafts andsaid conveyer roller motor to permit the discharge of the materialpreviously held by said trigger.

4. The combination with an electric motoroperated roller conveyer, ofmeans for controlling the operation of said conveyer, said meanscomprising a shaft journaled in suitable bearings and extending parallelwith said conveyer rollers at a distance above said rollers, at leastone trigger member fixed on said shaft and extending downward into thepath of travel of the material being con veyed by said rollers, a secondshaft flexibly coupled to said first named shaft, a solenoid, a leverkeyed to said second shaft, a link connection between said lever and theplunger of said solenoid, said link connection having a loose connectionwith the plunger of said solenoid topermit a limited free movement ofsaid link relative to said solenoid, said shafts being adapted to berotated within the limits of the free movement of said link connectionwhen the material being conveyed engages said trigger, means forpositively limiting the free movement of said shafts, said meansincluding a lug on said lever adapted to engage the plunger of saidsolenoid, means operable by the free movement of said shaft fordeenergizing the driving motor for said conveying rollers, and manuallyoperated means for simultaneously energizing said solenoidto rotate saidshafts and said conveyer roller motor to permit the discharge of thematerial previously held by said trig er.

In testimony whereof? we have hereunto set our hands. I

EDWIN T. LORIG. ROLLAND E. PETERSON.

